You’ve done it again, cher public: that is, you’ve set a new record here at parterre.com. The busy activity yesterday including the discussion of the Met’s 2010-2011 season led to the highest number of visits on a single day in parterre.com history: 5,857!
Hey, remember how New York City Opera threw this big gala last fall to salute the billionaire teabagger, Astroturfer and enemy of Net Neutrality David H. Koch? Now, La Cieca is sure that in the intervening months you have been asking yourself, “What could NYCO possibly do to top this ill-advised exaltation of someone who really doesn’t deserve to be honored? Who could NYCO possibly find who would be a less popular and appropriate target for veneration?”
I warn you, cher public, you are not going to believe who the honoree is for the spring gala. Read more »
Tomorrow night’s performance of Attila promises to be a visual feast, especially for those of us whose visual aesthetic was crystallized in the 1960s era of gigantic hair, pearlized eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner and sharply tailored sportswear.

Detail of a photo by Ken Howard, Metropolitan Opera
And Violeta Urmana‘s look is pretty fierce too! Read more »
Above, the cutest press photo released today by the Met. (Juan Diego Flórez in the title role of Rossini’s “Le Comte Ory.” Photo: Micaela Rossato / Metropolitan Opera.) Following the jump: more preview images of the Met’s other six new productions of the 2010-2011 season.
Intern JJ here, ready to go with live coverage of the Met’s 2010-2011 press announcement, which will begin in about 30 minutes. See you there, cher public! Latest coverage begins after the jump.
La Cieca hears that Placido Domingo has withdrawn from Tamerlano at ROH due to ill health and is rumored to be in hospital. Kurt Streit will now sing all performances.
Per the Met press office, “Giovanni Meoni will make his Met debut singing the role of Ezio in the premiere of Verdi’s Attila, tomorrow evening, replacing Carlos Alvarez, who is ill.”
You can stop all your wondering about who will play Anna Nicole Smith in the eponymous oeuvre by Mark-Anthony Turnage (The Silver Tassie) and Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer: the Opera), scheduled for a premiere at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden in February 2011. It’s Eva-Maria Westbroek, seen here in the (ahem) Titelpartie of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
Cher Public